Bell city councilman supports recall effort

September 14, 2010 12:00:00 AM PDT

BELL, Calif. --

A Bell city councilman says he supports the recall effort of four council members, including himself, but has no plans to resign. Luis Artiga said he would only consider resigning if the other three city council members agreed to do so simultaneously.

Artiga says if he quits, the other council members could appoint a replacement and the name of that person wouldn't be on the recall petitions that are being circulated right now.

The recall was launched after residents learned Artiga and the three other council members were being paid nearly $100,000 for their part-time service. It was also revealed that the city manager was making nearly $800,000 a year, the assistant city manager $376,288, and the police chief $457,000. Those three top officials have since resigned.

Artiga and another councilmember have cut their salaries to about $8,000 a year. The other two council members have said they will work for free.

Recall spokeswoman Cristina Garcia said the group hopes to gather 4,000 signatures within the next two weeks. That would be enough for a recall election in January.